Attachment-related predictors of college students’ problems with interpersonal sensitivity and aggression

Although previous studies have demonstrated that measures of parental as well as intimate adult attachment security have been associated in theoretically-expected directions with indices of social competence and interpersonal distress, few investigations have concurrently examined their contributions to specific types of interpersonal problems. This study conducted regression and structural equation modeling analyses to examine the independent and interactive contributions of parental and adult attachment security scores to college students' self-reported problems with interpersonal sensitivity and aggression. Results indicated that parental and adult attachment security scores were moderately intercorrelated. In addition, models positing adult attachment orientations as mediating associations between parental attachment security and both sensitivity and aggression problems were generally supported. Models testing the potential moderating influence of adult attachment orientations were not supported.